Category Archives: Congress

Senate confirms first openly gay man to federal bench

The U.S. Senate Monday evening (July 18) approved the confirmation of openly gay attorney J. Paul Oetken to serve as a U.S. district court judge.

Grassley hints at trouble ahead for lesbian judicial nominee

There was a hint of trouble ahead for the nomination of lesbian attorney Alison Nathan to the U.S. District Court for Southern New York.

Grassley grills lesbian nominee for federal court

Lesbian judicial nominee Alison Nathan told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that, despite her relative youth and inexperience, she thinks she is well qualified to be a U.S. District Court judge.

Full House passes Defense bill with three anti-gay amendments

The U.S. House on Thursday, May 26, passed the House Armed Services Committee authorization bill that includes three amendments aimed at delaying implementation of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and shoring up the impact of the Defense of

As DOMA lawsuits proliferate, Boehner has a spending problem

The Antideficiency Act is not the sort of federal law that an ordinary American would be familiar with. It applies to government officials who are in a position to spend government money. And it prohibits those officials from spending federal

House Committee approves three DADT/DOMA amendments

The full U.S. House Armed Services Committee approved three amendments late Wednesday night that seek to delay implementation of repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and to reiterate Congress's support for the Defense of Marriage Act.

New bill seeks end to adoption bias

Hundreds of thousands of children are in foster care in the United States, while discrimination prevents millions of willing LGBT people from being able to foster or adopt. U.S. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.) reintroduced a bill that aims to fix

AIDS funding: caught in the crossfire of the FY 12 budget battle

Before it left on spring recess, the U.S. House passed a budget for Fiscal Year 2012 that the president called "wrong for America" and that AIDS activists have said would do "irreparable harm."

House hired gun goes to work on DOMA; HRC attacks

The U.S. House has obligated itself to pay more than $500,000 for outside attorneys to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in federal courts. And the House has chosen a firm which clearly prides itself on including LGBT lawyers among

House hearing contentious on DOJ-DOMA decision

Democrats came out swinging Friday, April 15, during a House subcommittee hearing on the Department of Justice announcement that it would curtail its defense of the federal ban on recognition of same-sex marriages.